If you're WordPress site is slower or has low performance scores, watch as I show you some of the tools I use to improve speed and performance for your own site as well as clients. In the presentation, I go through some plugins you should be using on your site that are easy to set up as well as a basic setup of W3 Total Cache and using a CDN for your site.

1. OptimizingYour
WordPress site
Ozzy Rodriguez
Twitter: @OzzyR
http://ozzyrodriguez.com
WordPress Bay Area FoothillsGroup
July 16, 2014

2. Hosting Matters!
Most shared hosts have the following on one of
their large servers:
• 2500 users
• 5000-7000 sites
• About 1000 of these are WordPress sites
• WordPress is aVERY HEAVY load on servers
• Because of this and the fact that WordPress is
becoming more and more popular, more and
more hosts are creatingWordPress-specific
hosting
• Good hosting costs money
• Easiest way to make your website faster

3. Tools you need to
optimize!
1. PageSpeed for Chrome or Firefox
2. Pingdom

4. Queries are different than HTTP Requests
WordPress Queries
• WordPress queries is information that goes
between the site and the database
• What you enter into the backend of your site is
stored in the database
• The information is retrieved from the database
by asking the database for it (plugins/themes)
HTTP Requests
• These are requests made by the website
• Include javascript, css, images, etc.
• Using sprites for images, combining css and
combining javascript files will lower the
requests made

5. CheckYourQueries
• WordPress runs off a database
• Each query adds extra time
• Query Monitor

6. WP Smush.it
• UsesYahoo Smush.it API
• Makes your images smaller in size,
maintains quality
• Install the plugin when you start
work on a site, run it once and it’ll
run every time you add a new image

7. Install W3Total Cache
• I use it for ease of use and
functionality
• Works great with MaxCDN and
other CDN providers
• Install after you’ve optimized
everything else

8. Very quickly and easily, increase speed
• Enable Page Cache
• Minify Enable (leave defaults)
a) THIS MAY OR MAY NOT BE GOOD FOR
YOUR SITE!CHECK WITH OR
WITHOUT!
• Enable Object Cache
• Enable Browser Cache
• Play around with other settings as
even settings within these settings.
Performance increase depends on
server and other factors

9. Performance Difference
BeforeW3Total Cache AfterW3Total Cache

10. YAY! SO HAPPYTHATTHE SITE IS FASTER AND HAS SEEN A PERFORMANCE
BOOST!
Photo Credit: Paul L Dineen

11. Why use a CDN?
• Content Delivery Network
• Takes your files and serves them from servers around the world
• Content is delivered from servers closest to your visitors (reduced latency,
fast experience)
• MaxCDN, CloudFlare are big ones (Work with W3TC very easily)

12. MaxCDN Setup Inside
W3TC
• Set up your pull zone at MaxCDN
• Follow instructions inside W3TC
• EASY!

13. With andWithout a CDN
Without CDN With CDN

14. Now the client is REALLY HAPPY!
Photo Credit: Steve Corey

15. OptimizingYourWordPress site
Ozzy Rodriguez
Twitter: @OzzyR
http://ozzyrodriguez.com
WordPress Bay Area Foothills Group
July 16, 2014